At UVa, show-and-tell becomes ‘public art’

By Pat Fitzgerald

Published: April 29, 2008

A stuffed bunny in a black jacket and pink tutu. An iPod. A worn copy of Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged.” A Madonna CD. A Winnie the Pooh figurine. And a package of birth control pills.
These were a few of the objects that University of Virginia students, professors and community members brought to a massive session of “show and tell” on Tuesday in front of the UVa Art Museum.
Roughly 70 people sat around tables covered in white linen and presented their objects to others in their group. The idea was that the conversations sparked by the objects would create connections and relationships — thereby becoming a piece of public artwork.
“We’re using humans and human interactions as art,” said Kate Daughdrill, organizer of the event and teaching assistant of UVa’s Art in Community/Community In Art class. “We want people to be connected. It’s kind of a metaphor.”
Daughdrill’s object was a light blue tattered baby blanket.
“I brought my blankie,” she said. “It’s not that original, but I asked myself what I would grab if my house was burning down. It has sentimental value.”
Sitting next to Daughdrill was Hilah Barbot, a third-year UVa student. Barbot brought a 2-liter bottle of Guaraná, a cherry-flavored Brazilian soda. Barbot has visited Brazil a few times to work at an orphanage. The soda, brought to her from a friend, reminds her of her time there.
“It brings back good memories,” she said.
Barbot decided to open the bottle and let her tablemates taste the beverage.
“Let’s drink it!” she said. “I’m gonna pour it in your mouth. Open wide!”
Barbot poured a bit into Daughdrill’s mouth.
“Mmmmm,” Daughdrill said.
“It’s really good, right?” Barbot said. “It’s supposed to taste like cherries, but I think it tastes like bananas.”
At another table, UVa student Hannah Trible showed off her pet praying mantis named The Little Prophet.
“My friend caught it at another friend’s home,” Trible explained to her table. “My friend was like, ‘Who wants a pet?’ And I was like, ‘I want a pet!’”
For the past month, Trible has kept The Little Prophet in a jar and fed it “squishy little” insects. Lately, she has been challenging it with larger bugs.
“I want him to grow up to be big and strong,” she said.
At yet another table, UVa student Sharon Crews presented her blue tape measure.
“It’s kind of a big part of my life,” Crews said. “I want to be a designer when I grow up. Well, in a couple years, I guess.”
Also at Crews’ table was Elizabeth Breeden, founder of Art In Place, Charlottesville’s public artwork project. Breeden brought along an Art In Place brochure as her object and spoke about the initiative.
Breeden’s daughter, Summer Breeden, also attended. The younger Breeden brought a pair of wooden clogs that her mother bought in her early childhood.
“I’ve always been told that my last name was Dutch. Breeden. Whether I believe that is true or not, I value my family, so I brought these little wooden Dutch shoes,” she said. “I used to put them on and do a little cloggy dance. I knew I was getting old when I grew out of them at the ripe old age of 4.”
Tuesday’s show-and-tell performance art piece was an homage to the work of Suzanne Lacy, a Los Angeles-based artist who pioneered “new genre public art,” in which the artwork is an act or interaction, rather than an object that can be placed on a pedestal or hung on a gallery wall, said George Sampson, a professor in UVa’s art department.
During the show-and-tell, a small crowd formed on the fringe to watch. A few appeared puzzled; others amused. One or two stroked their chin, pondering the performance.
“This is what art is all about,” said David Chennault, chief operating officer of the art museum. “Artistic expression of creativity right in front of the museum.”